<p>I spent a number of years as a massage therapist in Montpelier, Vermont. Even though Montpelier is the capitol of Vermont, it is only a tiny, beautiful, and quaint town with no chain stores or franchises, but many massage therapists.&nbsp; After some fear of not being able to get my business going when I first moved to town, I learned to give up worrying about competition by chanting my mantra, "There can never be too many massage therapists!"</p> <p>I recently listened to a set of lectures on CD called SPONTANEOUS EVOLUTION by biologist Bruce Lipton and Steve Behrman (formerly known as the comedian Swami Beyondananda).&nbsp; The Seattle Public Library has a copy.&nbsp; I now have a new perspective on making a place for myself in the world of business after hearing their ideas. &nbsp;Some of them are included here.</p> <p>Our current environment of competitive business grew out of Darwin's theory of evolution and his idea of 'the survival of the fittest.'&nbsp; He interpreted the law of the jungle to be a theory that one must be the strongest to ultimately survive.&nbsp; However, Alfred Russell Wallace, an Englishman working in Borneo at the same time Darwin was working on his theory, had come up with his own theory of evolution.&nbsp; He wrote a manuscript entitled ON THE TENDENCY OF VARIETIES TO DEPART INDEFINITELY FROM THE ORIGINAL TYPE, which he sent to Darwin and asked if he would promote it.&nbsp; What happened next was more about the class system in England than it was about science.</p> <p>Wallace was a commoner.&nbsp; Darwin was a member of the upper class.&nbsp; Darwin ended up submitted Wallace's paper under his own name, simply including his abstract of the work, but with a slight change of perspective.&nbsp; Ironically, this slight change has had a profound effect on the way we view the world today.&nbsp; Alfred Russell Wallace spoke of evolution as dependent upon the elimination of the weakest elements in society, while Darwin reframed the idea as the struggle for the survival of the fittest.&nbsp; Their perspectives were probably influenced by the classes they moved in. &nbsp;Darwin view placed the emphasis on the virtue of the upper class, while Wallace saw evolution having to do with action on the lower class.&nbsp;</p> <p>Wallace's view was more closely aligned with what actually happens in nature.&nbsp; Instead of dominating or conquering the strongest element in nature, what happens in the jungle is that a lion, tracking a herd of gazelles will attack the weakest animal of the herd, not the strongest.&nbsp; So in fact, what matters is not to be the strongest animal in the herd, but not to be the weakest.&nbsp; This is a huge difference.&nbsp;</p> <p>Instead of dog eat dog (which doesn't actually happen in life) kind of world like the one we see today, Wallace was closer to the original meaning of the word competition - in Greek - to strive together.&nbsp; The first Olympic athletes saw competition as using others performance to enhance their own performance.</p> <p>Dr. Lipton speaks of the new science, a thrival of the fittingest, in an environment where we know we are all part of a matrix which is constantly seeking to balance itself.&nbsp; In James Lovelock's Gaia theory, the earth and biosphere collectively represent a living entity that is evolving and regulating its own complex metabolism.&nbsp; Evolutionary traits that benefit the system as a whole tend to be reinforced by nature, and the others are restrained by nature.&nbsp; As we humans find ways to evolve that are more harmonious with the planet, our cooperation will be contributing and supporting global harmony.&nbsp; Imagine what it would be like to begin to live into this new world that already exists!&nbsp;</p> <p>We have plenty of evidence in our world that cooperation is our nature.&nbsp; The bonobo chimps in the Congo are becoming well known for their peaceful communities.&nbsp; Instead of fighting, if they both want the same thing, they engage in a kind of sexual play, reducing the tension between them and bonding with each other instead.&nbsp; They seem to express the idea that "we are all in this together."&nbsp; One big reason for this is that they have no competition over food, because they have plenty of food.&nbsp; It turns out this is true for our planet as well.&nbsp; We have enough food if we could figure out the problem of distribution.&nbsp; Could this mean that we might ultimately be able to figure out a way to create a culture where everyone would thrive?</p> <p><strong></strong></p> 2009-03-29T00:25:59Z -9.76443 234 3894 true 17 12271 the-importance-of-cooperation-rather-than-competition 1 2009-03-30T21:36:34Z 2009-03-30T21:36:34Z

Here are some ideas gleaned from Dr. Bruce Lipton's SPONTANEOUS EVOLUTION lectures about the origins of competition and its alternatives.

1 2009-03-30T21:36:34Z